Scott F

I always replaced my trolling motor batteries at 4 years old with ones I bought at Walmart

Those are not ball bearing. Ball bearing swivels are a lot more expensive

Make sure the blade on the spinner is actually spinning and not the entire lure. If the lure is holding and not spinning, you shouldn’t need a swivel at all.

Do you have any numbness in your little finger and up the side of your hand? A doctor will have you see a neurologist and they’ll test for a pinched nerve. I had cubital tunnel syndrome. Which was a pinched nerve in my elbow. I needed surgery to relocate the nerve. Totally fine now, but wore a partial cast for at least a month.

A fisherman’s confidence in a bait, a line, or a presentation is one of the most important factors in his success. If you have no confidence in what you’re throwing, you won’t stick with it long before you switch back to something you’ve had success with in the past. If you believe bass won’t bite lures as well with braided line, or the wrong color or is missing a claw, you probably won’t do as well as others who are using that stuff with confidence.

Mix 2 tablespoons of borax with 1 cup sugar, and one cup water. Soak cotton balls in the solution. Place the cotton balls where the ants are seen. They are attracted to the sugar and will carry the borax back to the nest where it will kill them all.

Spinning reels twist line. It’s just the way they work, peeling line off the reel when casting, the winding it back on. It’s not any different that dealing with an extension cord or a garden hose. Some line twist is just the way it is. Before replacing badly twisted line, when in the boat, motor slowly along and let out line with no lure attached. Let out more than a full cast length and troll that for a minute or two. Reel the line back in pinching it between your fingers and the line twist will be removed.

Spending more money on a newer boat that is basically the same as the boat you have doesn’t make any sense to me. If you are needing more room, a faster boat or a boat that can handle bigger water, that makes more sense. Spending money to improve what you have, a better trolling motor, better depth finders or even a bigger 4 stroke motor is something that will make your boating experience better. More time on the water with your current boat will tell you what improvements are really needed. If it’s just that you want something newer and shinier I’d say relax and let that feeling pass, unless you have too much money that’s burning a hole in your pocket.

Thanks for saying that. I’ll be around.

Haven’t seen this issue come up in a while. Years ago, this was a common thread on fishing forums. People called the reels Shimbindo’s due to this exact problem.

If it’s mono, I’d say it’s probably not any good.i had some line that was about 15 years old and it was very brittle. I used it as backing for braided line. I never let line get so low that I run into the backing so there wasn’t any chance it would actually come into play. As backing it was fine so it didn’t go to waste.

I’ve had bass boats, jon boats and small, personal watercraft. I’ve never chosen my gear based on the boat, I choose what gear to use based on the fish I’m after and the lures I plan to use.

Not replacing it. I’m done with long drives to fish. Upkeep on a boat I’m not using is just too expensive and it was taking up space in my garage. I still have a couple of personal pontoons if I need to get a line wet. I’ll be getting rid of most of my fishing tackle. Giving it away to friends and family that I know will get some use out of it.

Needing a snow blower that size is the price you have to pay to live in a place with the quality of the smallmouth you have in your area.

They say the two happiest days in a man’s life are when he buys a boat, and sells a boat. Today should be a happy day for me, but it’s kinda sad instead. I sold my boat today, one I’ve had for 38 years. Pretty much everything I learned about bass fishing in lakes happened in that boat. I’ve trailered to 10 states and one Canadian province. The fiberglass is faded, the gel coat has a few dings, the batteries needed to be replaced and the carburetors are in need of some service. The new owner is going to be dealing with that. He and his family can make some memories with it now. I doubt he’ll ever has as much fun in it as I’ve had. Bye old friend.